New particulars have emerged revealing why the New York Knicks parted methods with coach Tom Thibodeau after their most profitable season in years.
The Knicks had issues about Thibodeau’s lack of changes and an overreliance on guard Jalen Brunson, based on Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Knicks brass had been involved that Thibodeau by no means successfully adjusted to opponents shutting down the pick-and-roll pairing of Brunson and Karl-Anthony Cities late within the season by placing a wing on Brunson.
There have been additionally worries about how Brunson was used so closely, and whether or not that may finally turn out to be a problem for a participant with a historical past of accidents. That fed into long-standing issues about Thibodeau’s heavy calls for, which two gamers, together with Mikal Bridges, went public with in the course of the season.
The Knicks’ Recreation 1 collapse within the Jap Convention Finals, and Thibodeau’s lack of ability to stem the tide in these moments, underlined all these issues, and Thibodeau’s future was doubtful even earlier than the sequence ended.
In the end, Brunson did bail the Knicks out of many robust conditions in the course of the playoffs. Which may not have been sustainable, nor was it one thing the staff needed to maintain counting on. Accordingly, they’re looking for a coach who could make more practical use of the expertise on their roster. That might contain the pursuit of not less than one fairly huge title.